FORT WORTH, Texas—Carl Edwards declined Friday to bash ex-girlfriend Amanda Beard for critical comments she made about him in her tell-all book.

In fact, Edwards said he doesn’t even remember some of the events and incidents the former Olympic swimmer revealed about their relationship in a memoir released last week.

Edwards, one of NASCAR’s top drivers with 19 career Cup victories, and Beard, a gold medalist in the 2004 Summer Olympics, dated in 2005-06.

Beard’s memoir, In The Water They Can’t See You Cry, outlines her battles with bulimia, depression and with cutting herself. But she also writes about ex-boyfriends, including her relationship with Edwards.

She describes the NASCAR star as controlling, jealous and self-absorbed.

Edwards, who finished second to Tony Stewart in the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, was asked about the book Friday at Texas Motor Speedway during his weekly news conference.

“It really caught me off-guard,” Edwards said. “It was kind of sad in a way for me to read that. It made me feel a little bit sad for Amanda that she was going through all that.”

Beard writes in the book that Edwards was “adamant that his way was the only right one” and says that their relationship revolved around Edwards, who is two years older than Beard.

“He never asked me what I might like to do, because he only wanted to be on Carl time,” she wrote. “He couldn’t imagine any other kind of time.”

Beard, who posed for several men’s magazines after the 2004 Olympics, said that Edwards asked her not to pose in sexy swimsuits and didn’t want her to see her male friends. She wrote that Edwards got angry once when she rode in a golf kart with another NASCAR driver and recounts a conversation in which she claims Edwards couldn’t remember basic things about her family.

Beard wrote that their relationship ended because of a lack of communication and jealously and that she cut ties with Edwards “severely and permanently.”

Edwards said he “absolutely” disputed Beard’s claims about him in the book.

“I wouldn’t know where to start,” Edwards said. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to talk about the psychology of feelings and opinions when you have a relationship that doesn’t work out, or if I’m supposed to talk about the strategies to sell books.

“It’s just weird. I don’t know how to address things that I don’t even remember happening. That’s tough. It’s pretty far out there in left field for me.”

Now married to Dr. Kate Downey and the father of two children, Edwards said that when he heard that Beard was writing a book, he thought “good for her, that’s awesome.”

“All of the correspondence we have ever had between 2006 and now has all been good,” Edwards said. “I considered us friends.

“I want to be very clear: I’m not going to bash her. I’m not going to say bad things about her because I didn’t know all that stuff was going on. She’s a mother. She’s a wife. And she’s someone that I cared about.”

So what did he think when he read the book?

“I didn’t know what to think about it,” Edwards said. “I guess all I can say is I considered us friends, and I didn’t realize she had all those problems.

“I would have done anything in the world to help her with those. As always, regardless of what she writes in her books and things like that, if she ever needs something from me, I’d be there to help her out.”